The lesson here is that EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US should sit down right now and write a living will, if we haven't already, detailing exactly what we do and don't want done in case of catastrophic illness. Ask your legal next of kin--all of them: spouses, parents, children--to witness it and sign it.

I dunno about your jurisdiction, but a Living Will is about as legally binding as a horoscope in this province.

I wonder if LifeGem offers tiaras?

t wondering at the size of the person required to produce a tiara, wondering if there are family tiara specials available like Mother's Day rings, wondering if it could be something passed down through the generations to be filled in as gems become available

"These are the family jewels!"

I dunno about your jurisdiction, but a Living Will is about as legally binding as a horoscope in this province.

You get free health care. Quitcher bitchin. *w*

I wonder if LifeGem offers tiaras?

Hmmm...according to their web site:

more than 50 1ct. LifeGem diamonds could be created from one individual.

and

LifeGems can be purchased as loose diamonds to cherish as you wish, or you can choose one of our specialty settings designed specifically to accent the LifeGem's unique brilliance. Please inquire about these options when speaking with one of our customer care specialists.

I bet they can make something.

Hubby hates dealing with any of that kind of stuff. Contemplating my mortality gives him a massive panic attack. I once asked him if he thought we should get wills--meaning him, Mr. Surgical Room Punch Card Special--and he froze up.

Pete has the same reaction, go figure.

I wonder if you could ask for custom stone shapes from LifeGem? Because, yes, I would want my ashes turned into a coffin-shaped gemstone.

JSw, it might be called a "health care proxy" or something like that in other places; it's a legally-binding document saying that if you can't make medical decisions anymore, Person X is the one who can. And when Person X signs that piece of paper that details all the things you want/don't want, that's what they're legally obligated to do/not do.

Person X can be anyone--lots of people ask their doctor to do it, if they have a good relationship with their doctor, because they don't think their family could follow their wishes for no heroic measures, etc.

I wonder if you could ask for custom stone shapes from LifeGem? Because, yes, I would want my ashes turned into a coffin-shaped gemstone.

That should answer the question "Who's the gothiest of them all?"

I dunno about your jurisdiction, but a Living Will is about as legally binding as a horoscope in this province.

I think even when it is not binding, it is useful, because it makes families talk about it. In a case like the Schiavo one, it would have meant her husband, her mother, and her father each would have known what she wanted, and would have each known the other knew, too. If you get all the arguments out of the way, while you are still able to make your case, the odds are better that, assuming they're half decent, your family will do what you want with fewer arguments and less hatred.

That should answer the question "Who's the gothiest of them all?"

Definitively. Though the person who wore the Jilli-coffin-gemstone would certainly be getting points.

You get free health care. Quitcher bitchin.

Not any more! The current provincial government inherited a big deficit from the previous "fiscally responsible" neo-conservative gang of thugs, so they have instituted a temporary Healthcare Premium (aka hidden tax) that everyone has to pay. Of course, it is about two hundred bucks and change for many taxpayers, but will double next year.

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